GERMAN OFFICIALS said yesterday that domestic-grown bean sprouts are a likely source of a deadly E.coli epidemic that has claimed 21 lives.
The breakthrough followed a weekend of growing tensions as hospitals, struggling to cope with the deadly bacterial epidemic, accused health authorities of reacting too slowly to the crisis.
Yesterday the Food Safety Authority of Ireland said that German authorities had informed them that the sprouts were locally grown and had not been exported.
Officials in Lower Saxony said yesterday they had a “very firm lead” that the German-grown bean sprouts were the source of the contamination. “The bean sprouts were sold either directly or through dealers to establishments in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hesse and Lower Saxony,” said Gert Lindemann, consumer protection minister in Lower Saxony.
He said an employee of the sprout manufacturer was ill with E.coli infection and the production facility had been shut down ahead of test results this morning.
Bean sprouts are highly nutritious and a popular ingredient in salads. However, the sprouts, industrially germinated seeds, have been at the centre of regular food scares.
Investigators indicated the suspect sprouts were delivered to a restaurant in Lübeck in which 17 people later treated for E.coli infection ate last month.
Joachim Berger, owner of the Kartoffelkeller (potato cellar) restaurant confirmed that several in the groups ate steak and salad at his restaurant on May 13th, including a group of German tax officials and a Danish tourist group. At least 17 customers later became sick – and a woman from the tax official group has since died.
“I have nothing to hide, I’m sure everything is in order,” said Mr Berger, saying that tests of the restaurant had revealed no contamination.
More than 2,500 people in Germany – and recent visitors to the country – have been infected by a particularly virulent form of E.coli; 520 of them are suffering from complications including haemolytic uraemic syndrome, symptoms of which include kidney failure.
After initial claims that Spanish cucumbers were to blame, German authorities were cautious yesterday as to whether the source of the contamination had been found. “We have indications that this leads through a Hamburg vegetable wholesaler but it doesn’t mean we’ve identified the source,” said a Lower Saxon health ministry spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Ulrich Frei, head of Berlin’s Charité hospital, criticised the crisis management of Germany’s Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases for “not doing enough”. Dr Frei criticised it for only beginning last week with an investigation into eating habits.
Opposition Social Democrat politician Thomas Oppermann claimed that “ministries, authorities, clinics and health services are working in an unco-ordinated fashion, on different wavelengths”.
Federal health minister Daniel Bahr denied that hospitals were struggling to cope in northern Germany, the centre of the epidemic.
“I can’t see that the local authorities aren’t doing everything necessary. I see people working under extreme pressure to inform people in a transparent way,” said Mr Bahr, praising the “tireless” efforts of hospital staff after visiting the Hamburg University clinic.
He denied the necessary facilities were not available to treat patients, though conceded patients would be spread out across Germany to avoid “bottlenecks”.